On Tuesday, May 26, 2020, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) announced that its final webinar, to review its draft report, would be delayed from June 8 to June 17.
At the same time, the committee posted draft conclusion statements for its topics and questions. Some of these statements had been reviewed at previous meetings, but others had not. Below is the draft conclusion statement answering the question, “How much added sugars can be accommodated in a healthy diet while still meeting food group and nutrient needs?”
Please note the sentences below in yellow highlight. The current DGAC recommendation for added sugars is 10 percent of calories or below. The significantly lower 6 percent number highlighted here is not necessarily what the committee’s final recommendation will be. Please note that the 6 percent available for added sugars assumes actual saturated fat consumption, which is about 11 percent for the population as a whole. In DGAC-recommended diets, sat fat would fall to around 10 percent, leaving slightly more room for added sugars — but not a full 10 percent of calories.
We caution that it remains unknown how this recommendation will turn out in the final report, but we will be interested to hear the discussion on this point during the June 17 webinar.